Sheila Dikshit Monday became the longest serving woman chief minister in the country when she wrested power for the third time in the Delhi assembly elections. The women chief ministers who preceded her were:
Sucheta Kripalani: She became the first woman chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in October 1963 and was there till March 1967 heading a Congress government.
Nandini Satpathy: She headed the Congress government in state from June 1972 to March 1974 and March 1974 to Dec 1976.
Shashikala Kakodkar: She was Goa chief minister who ruled from August 1973 to June 1977 and then from June 1977 to April 1979 heading a Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) government.
Syeda Anwar Taimur: She headed a Congress government from December 1980 to June 1981.
Janaki Ramachandran: When her actor husband and Tamil Nadu chief minister M.G. Ramachandran died in 1987, she succeeded him and her AIADMK government lasted only 24 days.
J. Jayalalitha: The actor-turned politician and AIADMK chief was elected to power thrice in Tamil Nadu -- from 1991 to 1996, for five months in 2001 and from 2002 to 2006.
Mayawati: The Uttar Pradesh chief minister and the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo first came to power in June 1995. She lasted till October 1995. She again ruled from March 1997 to September 1997. She once again became the chief minister in May 2002 to September 2003. She came to power again in 2007.
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal: The Congress chief minister in Punjab ruled the state from April 1996 to February 1997.
Rabri Devi: Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav's wife became the Bihar chief minister from July 1997 to February 1999 and again from March 1999 to March 2000.
Sushma Swaraj: The Bharatiya Janata Party leader was chief minister of Delhi from October to December 1998.
Uma Bharati: The former BJP leader was chief minister of Madhya Pradesh from December 2003 to August 2004.
Vasundhara Raje: The BJP leader was chief minister of Rajasthan from December 2003. Her party was not able to regain power in the state in the December 2008 elections.